Changing Budgetary Control Settings Procedures

This chapter describes the changing budgetary control setting procedures.

This chapter covers the following topics:

Definition

Budgetary control settings determine spending limits at the award, task, resource groups, and resource levels in a project.

Overview

This section explains the following:

Changing Budgetary Control Settings

When you create a baseline for an award budget for the first time, Grants Accounting creates default budgetary control level settings for each budget level based on the values in the Award Management window. You can override the default control level values for the baseline budget version. When you create subsequent baselines for the award budget, Grants Accounting uses the revised budgetary control level settings and not the default settings. For example, if you override the budgetary control level for a task, Grants Accounting does not reset the task to the default value the next time that you create a baseline for the budget.

If you add new tasks to the project or new resource groups or resources to the resource list assigned to the budget, the next time you create a baseline for the award budget, Grants Accounting automatically creates default budgetary control settings for the new tasks, resource groups, or resources. You can override the default control level values for the baseline budget version.

You can use the following procedures to change default budgetary control settings:

Default Budgetary Controls and Changing the Budget Entry Method

You can change the budget entry method for an award budget after you create a baseline version. If the budget entry level for the new budget entry method is different from the budget entry level for the current budget entry method, then Grants Accounting resets the budgetary controls to the default budgetary control level settings when you create the next budget baseline.

For example, if the budget entry level of the current budget entry method is Top Tasks and the budget entry level for the new budget entry method is Lowest Tasks, Grants Accounting resets the budgetary controls to the default budgetary control level settings when you create the next budget baseline.

Changing Budgetary Control Settings and Funds Check

When switching from a budgetary control setting of Advisory or None to a budgetary control setting of Absolute, if expenditures are greater than the budget, award budget re-baselining will fail. Users must adjust either the expenditures or the budget amount to avoid this failure. At budgetary control settings of Advisory or None, transactions will pass funds check even if the expenditure amounts exceed the budget limit.

The following table shows an example of funds check results when changing a budgetary control setting from Advisory or None to Absolute. For both the Advisory and None settings, if an expenditure of $150 exceeds a budget limit of $100, the transaction will still pass funds check.

But when the budgetary control setting is changed from Advisory or None to Absolute, and the expenditure of $150 exceeds the budget limit of $100, the transaction will fail funds check.

For more information on budgetary control and funds check, see Viewing Funds Check Results of Award Budget.

Changing Budgetary Control Settings from Advisory or None to Absolute
Budgetary Control Setting Budget Limit Expenditure Amount Funds Check Result
None $100 $150 Pass
Advisory $100 $150 Pass
Absolute $100 $150 Fail

Reference

For information on budgetary control settings, see Budget Entry Method, Budgetary Control, and Funds Check.

Prerequisites

Changing Budgetary Control Settings at the Award or Task Levels Procedure

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To change budgetary control settings for a project at the Award or Task levels, perform the following steps.

  1. In Grants Accounting, navigate to the Budgetary Control window as follows:

    Budgets - Budgetary Control

  2. In the Project Number field, select a project number from the list of values or in the Project Name field, select a project name from the list of values.

    The Award Number, Award Name, and Budgetary Control Settings fields are defaulted in.

    Note: You must first create a baseline version for the award budget. If the award budget does not have a baseline version, the project does not appear in the list of values.

  3. To change budgetary control settings, in the Award or Task region select Absolute, Advisory, or None from the Budgetary Control Settings field drop-down list.

    The budgetary control settings selected by users affect funds check.

    To verify the compatibility of budget entry method variables with budgetary control settings and the compatibility of budget entry method time phase with budgetary control time intervals, see Budget Entry Method, Budgetary Control, and Funds Check.

  4. Save changes to budgetary control settings as follows:

    File - Save or Save and Proceed

  5. Close the window.

Budgetary Control Window Description

Budgetary Control Window Description
Field Name Type Features Description
Project Number required list of values project number
Project Name required list of values project name
Number required list of values award number
Name required list of values award name
Budgetary Control Setting required drop-down list budgetary control setting for award; Absolute, Advisory, None
Clear All Data   button erases data from fields
Number optional list of values task number
Name optional list of values task name
Budgetary Control Settings optional drop-down list budgetary control setting for task; Absolute, Advisory, None
Resources   button opens Budgetary Control - Resources window

Changing Budgetary Control Settings at the Resource Groups or Resource Levels Procedure

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To change budgetary control settings for a project at the Resource Groups or Resource levels, perform the following steps.

  1. In Grants Accounting, navigate to the Budgetary Control window as follows:

    Budgets - Budgetary Control

  2. In the Project Number field, select a project number from the list of values or in the Project Name field, select a project name from the list of values.

    The Award Number, Award Name, and Budgetary Control Settings fields are defaulted in.

    Note: You must first create a baseline version for the award budget. If the award budget does not have a baseline version, the project does not appear in the list of values.

  3. Click Resources.

    The Budgetary Control - Resources window appears.

  4. In the Resource Groups or Resources region, change budgetary control settings as needed by selecting Absolute, Advisory, or None from the Budgetary Control Settings field drop-down list.

    The budgetary control settings selected by users affect funds check.

    To verify the compatibility of budget entry method variables with budgetary control settings and the compatibility of budget entry method time phase with budgetary control time intervals, see Budget Entry Method, Budgetary Control, and Funds Check.

  5. Save changes to budgetary control settings as follows:

    File - Save or Save and Proceed

  6. Close the window.

Budgetary Control - Resources Window Description

Budgetary Control - Resources Window Description
Field Name Type Features Description
Project Number display only   project number
Project Name display only   project name
Award Number display only   award number
Award Name display only   award name
Task Number display only   task number
Task Name display only   task name
Resource List display only   resource list used by this project and award
[Data Coordination Check Box] optional check box If selected, data in the Budgetary Control - Resources window is automatically updated and coordinated with data from the Budgetary Control window. If deselected, data in window is updated only when users click in the window.
      Note: Leave deselected to enhance performance when querying records in the Budgetary Control - Resources window.
Group optional list of values resource group name
Alias optional list of values resource group alias
Budgetary Control Settings optional drop-down list budgetary control setting for resource group; Absolute, Advisory, None
Name optional list of values resource name
Alias optional list of values resource alias
Budgetary Control Settings optional drop-down list budgetary control setting for resource; Absolute, Advisory, None

Updating Budgetary Control Default Settings

To update budgetary control default settings due to a change of the budgetary control settings in the Award Management window, perform the following steps.

  1. In Grants Accounting, navigate to the Budgetary Control window as follows:

    Budgets - Budgetary Control

  2. In the Project Number field, select a project number from the list of values or in the Project Name field, select a project name from the list of values.

    Grants Accounting shows the default settings for the Award Number, Award Name, and Budgetary Control Settings fields.

    Note: You must first create a baseline version for the award budget. If the award budget does not have a baseline version, the project does not appear in the list of values.

  3. Click Find.

  4. Click Clear All Data.

    The Decision pop-up window will appear asking: Do you want to perform the default button action?

  5. Click Yes.

    A Note pop-up window will appear stating: Default or current budgetary controls setup has been deleted from the database.

  6. Click OK.

  7. In the Number field of the Award region of the Budgetary Control window, enter the award number.

  8. Press the Tab key.

  9. Click Default Setup.

    The Decision pop-up window appears asking: Do you want to perform the default button action?

  10. Click Yes.

    The Note pop-up window appears stating: Default budgetary control setup for the current award has been created in the database.

  11. Click OK.

  12. Save changes to budgetary control settings as follows:

    File - Save or Save and Proceed

  13. Close the window.

Adding or Deleting Resources or Resource Groups Procedure

To add or delete resources or resource groups, perform the following steps.

  1. In Grants Accounting, navigate to the Budgetary Control window as follows:

    Budgets - Budgetary Control

  2. In the Project Number field, select a project number from the list of values or in the Project Name field, select a project name from the list of values.

    The Award Number, Award Name, and Budgetary Control Settings fields are defaulted in.

    Note: You must first create a baseline version for the award budget. If the award budget does not have a baseline version, the project does not appear in the list of values.

  3. Click Find.

  4. Click Resources.

    The Budgetary Control - Resources window appears.

  5. Optionally, to add a resource or resource group, enter the resource in the Name field of the Resources region, or enter the resource group in the Group field of the Resource Group region.

  6. Optionally, to delete a resource or resource group, delete the unwanted resource in the Name field of the Resources region, or delete the unwanted resource group in the Group field of the Resource Group region.

  7. Save changes to budgetary control settings as follows:

    File - Save or Save and Proceed

  8. Close the window.